FireRescue1 Articles

I first heard this early in my career as a fire officer: "One technology year equals seven calendar years." Today, it's more like one tech year equals seven minutes; we just get our hands on the next big thing only to see the "nextest big thing" come on the market the following week.

The standard, it is a changin' — NFPA 1981: Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Emergency Services, that is.

I think we can all agree that SCBA is one of the most critical components of the firefighter's protective ensemble. It is also the most sophisticated — and becoming more so every year — and it's the only piece of the protective ensemble that we don't issue to the individual.

Everyday, firefighters around the world put faith in their personal protective clothing and equipment, that is, their turnout or bunker gear. The collective costs of the individual items that make up the turnout gear ensemble are one of the more costly purchases for any department — whether for new recruits or replacement gear for veterans.

Rare is the patient who walks to the ambulance; here's a look at products that can save firefighters and EMTs from aggravation and injury when carting patients to the rig.

They are cheap, compact and disposable; these quick medic kits are simple to build and carry on every apparatus.

Summer is not the time to slack off on apparatus preventive maintenance; here's how to care for your rig during the dog days.

When it comes to aerial fire apparatus, opinions run strong and deep. For many firefighters, especially those in our larger cities, the prototypical truck company arrived at the fire scene aboard a tractor-drawn aerial (TDA) — the driver and tillerman exploiting the smallest opening to masterfully position the vehicle in front of the fire building.

Do you remember the old Miller Lite Beer commercials? You know, the ones that had former star athletes debating whether the best attribute of the beer was that it was "less filling" or that the beer "tastes great."

When a mark on a Tucson, Ariz. firefighter's foot turned out not to be a spider bite, but rather an aggressive bacteria known as MRSA, it prompted equally aggressive action by the department to find systemic solutions.